Religion And Religious Practices In Rural China

This book explores how, unlike in the West, the daily religious life of most Chinese people spreads without institutional propagation. Based upon more than a decade of field research in rural China, the book demonstrates the decisive role of rites of passage and yearly festival rituals held in every household in shaping people’s religious dispositions. It focuses on the family, the unit most central to Chinese culture and society, and reveals the repertoire embodied in daily life in a world envisioned as comprising both the “yin” world of ancestors, spirits, and ghosts, and the “yang” world of the living. It discusses especially the concept of bai, which refers to both concrete bodily movements that express respect and awe, such as bowing, kneeling, or holding up ritual offerings, and to people’s religious inclinations and dispositions, which indicate that they are aware of a spiritual realm that is separate from yet close to the world of the living. Overall, the book shows that the daily practices of religion are not a separate sphere, but rather belief and ritual integrated into a way of dwelling in a world envisaged as consisting of both the “yin” and the “yang” worlds that regularly communicate with each other.

Written by a team of internationally renowned scholars, this volume provides an in-depth introduction to religion in contemporary China. Instead of adopting the traditional focus on pre-modern religious history and doctrinal traditions, Chinese Religious Life examines the social dimensions of religious life, with essays devoted to religion in urban, rural, and ethnic minority settings; to the religious dimensions of body, gender, environment, and civil society; and to the historical, sociological, economic, and political aspects of religion in contemporary Chinese society.

Table of contents

Informative and eye-opening, the Handbook on Religion in China provides a uniquely broad insight into the contemporary Chinese variations of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. In turn, China's own religions and transmissions of rites and systems of divination have spread beyond China, a progression that is explored in detail across 19 chapters, written by leading experts in the field.

Folk and popular religion is a very significant part of Chinese religious life, especially in rural areas. Contemporary Religions in China focuses on the religious activities of the lay people of contemporary China and their ideas of what it means to be "religious" and to practice "religion". Throughout, the discussion is illustrated with case studies, textboxes, images, thought questions, and further reading, which help to capture what religion is like, how and why it is practiced, and what ‘religion’ means for everyday people across China in the twenty-first century. Contemporary Religions in China is an ideal introduction to religion in China for undergraduate students of religion, Chinese studies, and anthropology.

This book is a comprehensive survey of the structure, organization and institutionalization of local community religious traditions in north China villages in the twentieth century.

In the 1970s it was commonly asserted that Chinese religion, at least as it had existed during Qing dynasty times, had ceased to existal together. But something rather curious occurred between the 1970s to the late 1990s and the present. Chinais home to over 20million Muslims, and the number of mosques, including women only mosques, has been rapidly growing. Chinais also predicted to become the worlds largest Christian nation with in ten years. Tibetan Buddhism, once a minor religion, now a day attracts a large number of followers among the wealthy and educated Chinese middle class. Periodically there is another crack down on religious activity, but it would certainly appear that religion in China today, which is clearly derivative of traditional Chinese religion, with certain modern additions, has come back within creasing force. For the most part, nowadays the Chinese people have relative autonomy to practice any of the officially approved religions, as long as that does not pose a challenge to the established social order or the political status quo. An increasing number of people are availing themselves to the varied opportunities for religious engagement and expression. On the whole, there is a discernible trend towards greater religious participation, although China still comes across as being much more secular when compared to other countries with high levels of religious belief and affiliation, such as the US or India. On the other hand, there is probably more religious participation in China than in much of Europe. Religion in Contemporary China: Revitalization and Innovation provides wide-ranging studies of contemporary religious practices in China. It examines the different processes and me czarisms of religious revivals and innovations, and, more broadly, relates the Chinese example of religious revitalization to larger issues of social and cultural continuity and change. Along with Chinas astonishing economic grow thin recent years, Chinese religions have enjoyed a remarkable renaissance. Buddhist, Daoist, and popular religious temples have flourished. It focuses on the fact or sunderly ingtheon-going popularity of templecults, local deities, temple festivals, and the privatisation of popular beliefs -- which are all deeply rooted in Chinese rural life. In addition, it tries to offer some new perspectives on the study of urban religion in contemporary China.

In recent years, there has been an astonishing revival of religious practices in China. Looking beyond numerical counts of religious practitioners, temples, and churches, anthropologist Adam Yuet Chau's vivid study explores how religion is embedded in contemporary Chinese lives and society, from personal devotion to community-wide festivals. Covering Buddhism, Daoism, and folk religion, as well as Christianity and Islam, this ethnographically rich book provides insights into the contemporary relevance of religious traditions in Chinese societies. By considering the ways in which Chinese people ‘do’ religion, Chau reveals how religious practice plays a critical role in establishing and maintaining a wide range of relationships: between people, spirits, and places; ritual service providers and their customers; the state and religious groups. He argues that relationality is the key anchor of religious lifeworlds, and this insight demands an entirely new way of approaching religion everywhere. This lively account will appeal to those studying or curious about Chinese or East Asian religions, and serves as a perfect gateway to understanding religious practices in China today.